# Driving "rules" that they don't teach you in driver's ed **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 1, 2010, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-rules-that-they-dont-teach-you-in-drivers-ed/527254 "2010-02-01T16:08:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![FredGarven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/6f9a4e/32.png) [@FredGarven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FredGarven)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2010, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-rules-that-they-dont-teach-you-in-drivers-ed/527254/141 "2010-02-02T22:11:57Z")
> [@Rumor\_Watkins](#): > > You’re just plain wrong, sorry. > > It’s your problem to make sure the lane is clear/will be clear by the time you enter it. According to you, what are sidestreet-to-arterial road drivers supposed to do? cross over the double-yellow lane and turn directly into traffic travelling at speed? From the latest Arkansas Driver’s Manual… “Shared Center Lane - Shared center lanes are reserved for making left turns and can be used by vehicles traveling in either direction. Marked on the pavement, left turn arrows for traffic in one direction alternate with left turn arrows for traffic approaching from the opposing direction. These lanes are marked on each side by solid yellow and dashed yellow lines. In Arkansas it is permissible for a vehicle making a left turn from an intersecting street or driveway to utilize a center left turn lane as part of the maneuver to gain access or merge into traffic lanes, except that it is not permissible to use the center left turn lane as an acceleration lane.” So it appears you are correct. However, in keeping with the spirit of the OP’s request to share instances of “rules” that they don’t teach you in driver’s ed, this is certainly one that stands out in my mind as one that was never taught to me in 1984 when I took driver’s ed. I therefore followed the clearly marked signs along the side of the road stating it was for left turning only and the big-ass white left-pointing arrows with the word ONLY underneath them painted in the center of the lanes about every mile as the defined rule to be followed. I will continue to follow my interpretation even against what is stated in my state’s manual as I personally believe that to do otherwise is an act of jackassery. ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2010, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-rules-that-they-dont-teach-you-in-drivers-ed/527254/142 "2010-02-02T22:16:47Z")
> [@FredGarven](#): > > …I therefore followed the clearly marked signs along the side of the road stating it was for left turning only and the big-ass white left-pointing arrows with the word ONLY underneath them painted in the center of the lanes about every mile as the defined rule to be followed. > > I will continue to follow my interpretation even against what is stated in my state’s manual as I personally believe that to do otherwise is an act of jackassery. But are the drivers turning on the main street, and using the center turn lane as an intermediary lane, not ALSO turning left? ---
**Author:** ![MaddyStrut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/dbc845/32.png) [@MaddyStrut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaddyStrut)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2010, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-rules-that-they-dont-teach-you-in-drivers-ed/527254/143 "2010-02-03T00:07:36Z")
If you have to reverse while pulling a trailer, put your hands on the _bottom_ of your steering wheel. Then you can turn your hands in the direction you want to go. It reverses things for you (e.g. you push your hands to the right but the wheel goes to the left) and makes it much easier to figure out. ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2010, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-rules-that-they-dont-teach-you-in-drivers-ed/527254/144 "2010-02-03T00:31:39Z")
> [@Great\_Dave](#): > > Okay, crazyjoe, here’s the scenario- I’m driving on a two lane interstate and there is construction ahead and a sign that says “Merge ahead- lane ends in one mile.” Almost all the other drivers start merging right away- causing stop and go traffic for the whole mile ahead of the actual lane closure. They don’t actually cause the stop-and-go by merging early. They stop-and-go is caused by people running all the way up to the last yard of pavement and then forcing their way in, causing all the properly-merged folks to have to brake. The overall backup _itself_ is caused by traffic density and cannot be alleviated by any particular strategy except (in the long term) birth control. The _perception_ that a proper, early merge causes backups is self-serving, thus appealing to a lot of drivers. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2010, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-rules-that-they-dont-teach-you-in-drivers-ed/527254/145 "2010-02-03T00:50:33Z")
> [@enipla](#): > > Really? Taught? So every traffic light you are supposed to put your parking brake on? Makes no sense to me as your regular brakes are more powerful. And why neutral? 1. Yes, taught. I’ll go so far to say that this bahaviour is _ingrained_. When I test-drove a car in the US, the sales guy was freaking out about it - and my brother nearly failed his test in the US for the same reason. 2. Yes, if you’re stopped for more than about 5 seconds, you put the handbrake on. 3. Your regular brakes are all four wheels. The handbrake is the back two. But if you are whacked from behind by another vehicle, your body will move all over the place and your foot will almost always depart from the brake pedal, thus leaving the car to roll. 4. Most of us use manual cars, so yes, neutral, foot off the clutch, is the default state when stationary. In an automatic, the situation may be somewhat different. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2010, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-rules-that-they-dont-teach-you-in-drivers-ed/527254/146 "2010-02-03T00:57:23Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > Hmm, I went and found it, but I don’t seem able to get a link on it from streetview. It’s the corner of 9th Avenue SW and 3rd. Street SW, anyway, facing (I believe) south. And it’s too dark and shadowed in Google Maps to see the lane markings. Pity. I’d like to see it; I’ve nsever seen a triple left tiurn lane, as far as I remember. ---
**Author:** ![california\_jobcase](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@california\_jobcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/california_jobcase)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2010, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-rules-that-they-dont-teach-you-in-drivers-ed/527254/147 "2010-02-03T01:08:31Z")
Right turn on red is an option. It’s perfectly legal to sit there and make everyone else wait for the green! ---
**Author:** ![Bearflag70](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Bearflag70](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bearflag70)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2010, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-rules-that-they-dont-teach-you-in-drivers-ed/527254/148 "2010-02-03T01:14:46Z")
> [@Sunspace](#): > > And it’s too dark and shadowed in Google Maps to see the lane markings. Pity. I’d like to see it; I’ve nsever seen a triple left tiurn lane, as far as I remember. Looking for a triple left? Here is one in the Sacramento, CA area (Rancho Cordova). [http://maps.google.com/maps?source=ig&hl=en&rlz=&oq=&um=1&ie=UTF-8&q=highway+50+%26+sunrise+blvd.,+rancho+cordova,+ca&fb=1&gl=us&hq=highway+50+%26&hnear=sunrise+blvd.,+rancho+cordova,+ca&ei=4cxoS6StHIz-sgPRko2HBQ&sa=X&oi=local\_group&ct=image&resnum=1&ved=0CBMQtgMwAA](http://maps.google.com/maps?source=ig&hl=en&rlz=&oq=&um=1&ie=UTF-8&q=highway+50+%26+sunrise+blvd.,+rancho+cordova,+ca&fb=1&gl=us&hq=highway+50+%26&hnear=sunrise+blvd.,+rancho+cordova,+ca&ei=4cxoS6StHIz-sgPRko2HBQ&sa=X&oi=local_group&ct=image&resnum=1&ved=0CBMQtgMwAA) I don’t know how to do a pinpoint link. Look at the freeway offramp from eastbound US Highway 50 at Sunrise Blvd. ---
**Author:** ![Bearflag70](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Bearflag70](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bearflag70)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2010, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-rules-that-they-dont-teach-you-in-drivers-ed/527254/149 "2010-02-03T01:16:13Z")
> [@california\_jobcase](#): > > Right turn on red is an option. It’s perfectly legal to sit there and make everyone else wait for the green! Similarly, many people don’t know that you can turn **left** on red from a one-way street onto another one-way street (in California anyway). ---
**Author:** ![Bearflag70](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Bearflag70](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bearflag70)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2010, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-rules-that-they-dont-teach-you-in-drivers-ed/527254/150 "2010-02-03T01:33:47Z")
> [@Bearflag70](#): > > Looking for a triple left? Here is one in the Sacramento, CA area (Rancho Cordova). > > [Google Maps](http://maps.google.com/maps?source=ig&hl=en&rlz=&oq=&um=1&ie=UTF-8&q=highway+50+%26+sunrise+blvd.,+rancho+cordova,+ca&fb=1&gl=us&hq=highway+50+%26&hnear=sunrise+blvd.,+rancho+cordova,+ca&ei=4cxoS6StHIz-sgPRko2HBQ&sa=X&oi=local_group&ct=image&resnum=1&ved=0CBMQtgMwAA) > > I don’t know how to do a pinpoint link. > > Look at the freeway offramp from eastbound US Highway 50 at Sunrise Blvd. Here’s a better link. It’s just north of the intersection of Folsom Blvd. & Sunrise Blvd. [http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&safe=off&q=folsom%20blvd.%20%26%20sunrise%20blvd.%2C%20rancho%20cordova%2C%20ca&oq=&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wl](http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&safe=off&q=folsom%20blvd.%20%26%20sunrise%20blvd.%2C%20rancho%20cordova%2C%20ca&oq=&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wl) ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2010, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-rules-that-they-dont-teach-you-in-drivers-ed/527254/151 "2010-02-03T01:37:08Z")
> [@Bearflag70](#): > > Looking for a triple left? Here is one in the Sacramento, CA area (Rancho Cordova). > > [Google Maps](http://maps.google.com/maps?source=ig&hl=en&rlz=&oq=&um=1&ie=UTF-8&q=highway+50+%26+sunrise+blvd.,+rancho+cordova,+ca&fb=1&gl=us&hq=highway+50+%26&hnear=sunrise+blvd.,+rancho+cordova,+ca&ei=4cxoS6StHIz-sgPRko2HBQ&sa=X&oi=local_group&ct=image&resnum=1&ved=0CBMQtgMwAA) > > I don’t know how to do a pinpoint link. > > Look at the freeway offramp from eastbound US Highway 50 at Sunrise Blvd. There’s a little chain-link icon on the top right of the map that will give you a direct link to the view you’re on. [Here’s the intersection in question](http://maps.google.com/maps?source=ig&hl=en&ie=UTF8&q=highway+50+%26+sunrise+blvd.,+rancho+cordova,+ca&fb=1&gl=us&hq=highway+50+%26&hnear=Sunrise+Blvd,+Rancho+Cordova,+CA+95742&ei=4cxoS6StHIz-sgPRko2HBQ&ved=0CBMQtgMwAA&ll=38.607328,-121.270726&spn=0.000618,0.001191&t=k&z=20). [Here is the street-view version](http://maps.google.com/maps?source=ig&hl=en&ie=UTF8&q=highway+50+%26+sunrise+blvd.,+rancho+cordova,+ca&fb=1&gl=us&hq=highway+50+%26&hnear=Sunrise+Blvd,+Rancho+Cordova,+CA+95742&ei=4cxoS6StHIz-sgPRko2HBQ&ved=0CBMQtgMwAA&ll=38.607329,-121.27062&spn=0,359.998809&t=k&z=20&layer=c&cbll=38.607328,-121.270725&panoid=dVTVEah23izwbF2uUhMApg&cbp=12,70.66,,0,17.67). ---
**Author:** ![Bearflag70](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Bearflag70](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bearflag70)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2010, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-rules-that-they-dont-teach-you-in-drivers-ed/527254/152 "2010-02-03T01:59:37Z")
> [@garygnu](#): > > There’s a little chain-link icon on the top right of the map that will give you a direct link to the view you’re on. [Here’s the intersection in question](http://maps.google.com/maps?source=ig&hl=en&ie=UTF8&q=highway+50+%26+sunrise+blvd.,+rancho+cordova,+ca&fb=1&gl=us&hq=highway+50+%26&hnear=Sunrise+Blvd,+Rancho+Cordova,+CA+95742&ei=4cxoS6StHIz-sgPRko2HBQ&ved=0CBMQtgMwAA&ll=38.607328,-121.270726&spn=0.000618,0.001191&t=k&z=20). [Here is the street-view version](http://maps.google.com/maps?source=ig&hl=en&ie=UTF8&q=highway+50+%26+sunrise+blvd.,+rancho+cordova,+ca&fb=1&gl=us&hq=highway+50+%26&hnear=Sunrise+Blvd,+Rancho+Cordova,+CA+95742&ei=4cxoS6StHIz-sgPRko2HBQ&ved=0CBMQtgMwAA&ll=38.607329,-121.27062&spn=0,359.998809&t=k&z=20&layer=c&cbll=38.607328,-121.270725&panoid=dVTVEah23izwbF2uUhMApg&cbp=12,70.66,,0,17.67). Ah… thanks! ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2010, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-rules-that-they-dont-teach-you-in-drivers-ed/527254/153 "2010-02-03T02:09:31Z")
> [@amarone](#): > > But can you guarantee that you will keep your foot on the brake when someone rams you from behind? Your body is going to be thrown backwards, i.e. away from the pedals. Someone hits you from behind… and you’ll be thrown _towards_ the car that hit you…? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2010, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-rules-that-they-dont-teach-you-in-drivers-ed/527254/154 "2010-02-03T02:16:33Z")
> [@Sunspace](#): > > And it’s too dark and shadowed in Google Maps to see the lane markings. Pity. I’d like to see it; I’ve nsever seen a triple left tiurn lane, as far as I remember. The triple left turn only signs are above the street, not on the lanes. I’m able to see them clearly in street view - now you’ve got me wondering what you’re looking at. 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Shamozzle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shamozzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shamozzle)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2010, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-rules-that-they-dont-teach-you-in-drivers-ed/527254/155 "2010-02-03T02:25:00Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > Hmm, I went and found it, but I don’t seem able to get a link on it from streetview. It’s the corner of 9th Avenue SW and 3rd. Street SW, anyway, facing (I believe) south. Thanks ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2010, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-rules-that-they-dont-teach-you-in-drivers-ed/527254/156 "2010-02-03T02:26:29Z")
> [@Bearflag70](#): > > Similarly, many people don’t know that you can turn **left** on red from a one-way street onto another one-way street (in California anyway). I learned an addition to that rule - you can do that from the furthest left lane into the furthest left lane, but not from any other lanes. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2010, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-rules-that-they-dont-teach-you-in-drivers-ed/527254/157 "2010-02-03T02:33:59Z")
> [@california\_jobcase](#): > > Right turn on red is an option. It’s perfectly legal to sit there and make everyone else wait for the green! That definitely falls under the “don’t be a jerk” category; if you can make a right turn on red, you should. I’m not sure why you’d want to sit and wait (and block others) longer than you have to. ---
**Author:** ![Shamozzle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shamozzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shamozzle)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2010, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-rules-that-they-dont-teach-you-in-drivers-ed/527254/158 "2010-02-03T02:35:39Z")
> [@Surly\_Chick](#): > > Cite, please. (Only because it sounds like a good story.). I don’t have a hard cite, but the short story is that a guy and a girl I know were driving through the southern interior of BC one hot summer day near Cache Creek. That area is very dry and can get very hot in summer. She threw her cigarette out the window and it landed in a box of papers in the box of their pickup. They only noticed when the driver looked into his rear view mirror and noticed 3-foot flames coming from the box and threatening to ignite everything else in the box of the truck. In a panic, he stopped the truck and jumped into the back of the pickup and threw the flaming box overboard, only to have it roll into a ditch full of tall, dry grass. The whole ditch caught on fire and a wall of flame quickly swept up a hillside. My understanding is that half the town leaped into action to fight this massive grass fire that threatened to move into the town. It took a few hours to get it under control, all while the girl sat on the side of the road, head in hands, in tears. ---
**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2010, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-rules-that-they-dont-teach-you-in-drivers-ed/527254/159 "2010-02-03T02:49:56Z")
There actually is an effective resolution of the “early merge, late merge” conflict (which has long been thought irresolvable): the cooperative merge. I’ve seen it a few times and I’d like to think it will catch on. It involves signs that say “Use both lanes to merge point.” Then, near the merge point, signs say “Cooperative merge: one vehicle from each lane, in turn.” People seem to catch on fairly quickly, and IME it works with little strain. If you encounter one of these, the trick is to be in the lane with the most trucks: As trucks are longer than cars, this lane will move a bit more quickly. ---
**Author:** ![EmAnJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d2c977/32.png) [@EmAnJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EmAnJ)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2010, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-rules-that-they-dont-teach-you-in-drivers-ed/527254/160 "2010-02-03T03:11:10Z")
> [@Leaper](#): > > Someone hits you from behind… and you’ll be thrown _towards_ the car that hit you…? 😕 The car goes forwards, but the force of the impact pushing YOU back into the seat. This of very rapid acceleration in an airplane - you are pushed into your seat. Now imagine this times a hundred. Your entire body will be forced backwards, including your feet from the pedals. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-rules-that-they-dont-teach-you-in-drivers-ed/527254.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-rules-that-they-dont-teach-you-in-drivers-ed/527254.md?page=9)